Are we Humans?

I believe the quality of being human is not only linked to the body structure of a human being but to the capacity of caring for others guided by love. But besides we have a set of rules and ethical behavior that we have inherited as a result of the development of humanity. Once a human being has the necessary elements they should take positions according to what they are.

The gas sarin is a man made weapon that attacks the nervous system. It was originally developed in Germany in 1938 as a pesticide. Sarin is more potent that a regular pesticide that cause harmful effects in the organs of insects. In fact the nerve agents are the most toxic and rapidly acting chemical warfare agents.

If we describe the work that sarin does we simply say that it stops the muscles from switching off and usually death occur as a result of asphyxia due to inability of the muscles involved in the breathing function.

It all depends on how much the person is exposed to this gas. Some of the symptoms are: runny nose, watery eyes, small pinpoint pupils, eye pain, blurred vision, drooling and excessive sweating, cough, chest tightness, rapid breathing, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, increased urination, confusion, drowsiness, weakness, headache, slow or fast heart rate, low or high blood pressure and finally death.

Sarin has no color, no odor and no taste. Imagine that you are simply walking through your favorite park and suddenly you are attacked by someone using this weapon.  In fact a terrorist used it in 1995 in the subway in Japan and thirteen people died, fifty were seriously injured and thousand lost their vision temporarily.

On 1993 it was signed by 162 member countries of the United Nation a Convention of Chemical Weapons. This document called for the complete destruction of all specified stockpiles of chemical weapons by April 2007 and sarin was included on that list to be destroyed.

It broke my heart my heart the image of a Syrian girl under the effects of gas sarin and her cry saying that she wanted to live. The images of dead children are really harmful. I feel attacked on my own being. More than one thousand people died due to this action of president of Syria, Bashar al Assad.

The world should not allow this to happening and doing nothing on this case is to approve. I do not know if the people of Syria have seen the images of what has happened in their own territory.  I do not know if the Arab people know what has happened. I do not know if Muslims are aware of what a Muslim president has done.      

There is a general rule in the case of Syria, each country or tribe want to take a position according to their political interests. I really do not know much about the rebels and if they will be even worse than the president now. But I am sure that this kind of actions should not be tolerated. And I would love to see the Arab world to take an action against this crime.

Estela Teresita Delgado